Sheet glass surfacing means



April'19, 1932. BLMR 1,854,394

SHEET GLASS SURFACING MEANS Filed March 21, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mw/ntoz Jmes C. II

atmwug Patented Apr. 19, 1932 Units!) stars PA ENT OFFICE JAM-ES 'C. .ZBLAIR, TOLEDO, OHIO, ASS'IGNOR TO LIBBEY-OWEN'S1FORD GLASS OOM- v PANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION'OF OHIO I SHEET GLASS SUB/FACING MEANS Application file'd March'21,

Thepresent invention relates to sheet glass surfacing apparatus, and more particularly to the so-called continuous system.

lin the, continuous method of grinding and polishing glass blanks, a plurality of sheets of glass are mounted upon and-carried by 'tables adapted to-be coupled together to form a continuous line, the tables whencoupled being propelled beneath a plurality'of grinding and polishing units arranged substantia'lly in 'a straight line. The rough blank is ordinarily first subjected to the action of some suitable abrasive such as sand held in suspension in water. The-sheet 'is moved continuously and pro gressi-velybeneath the units, the "grades of abrasive being so controlled that as the-sheet progresses beneath the "line the abrasive material becomes gradually 'finer. It is customary to use with the -last group of grinders a smoothing medium such as emery or garnet arranged in suspension in water to produce on the sheet what is known in "the art as "the final smooth. The final smooth .is given to the sheet to prepare it for the polishing opera'tion. Thesheet, after-it has been 'ground is then passed beneath a'plura'lity of polishing units.

It has been customary to mount all o'f the grinding units so that'the space between adjacent units throughout the entire line isthe same, and no means have been provided to adjust the grinding heads longitudinally of "the line to vary thegap orspace between adacent heads. The same thing holds true for the polishing units in that in the past no means h'ave been provided to permit variation 'of-the gaps'between adjacent polishing'heads. In my opinion, it is desirable to'have an accurate control throughout the entire system, therefore the :present invention relates particularly to means for permitting adjustment of the grinding and the polishing heads longitudinally ofthe line so that the space between adjacent "headsmay be=varied.

An importantobjectof the inven'tionis to provide in a'system of this nature, a pluralityof grinding and polishing units arranged substantially in a straight line, and including means whereby a sheet or a pluralityzofsheets'of glass may be moved con- 1927. Serial No. 176,857.

tinuously and progressively beneath said units and in contact therewith, each of 'said units being mounted in a manner that they may be moved in either direction 'longitudir nally of the line.

Another important obj ect of the invention 7 is to provide an apparatus of this nature wherein the grlndmg and pollshlng nmts may be moved to varythe space 'betweeneach unit and the adjacent units in amanner'that the operativesurfacing face of the unit will not be changed with respect to thesheet of glass being surfaced.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein agrinding'or polishing head in a continuous system may be adjusted longitudinally of a line in-which the unit is contained, the adjusting means being such that the unit will be guarded against accidental displacement.

Other objects and advantages of the'invention Will become more apparent during the course of the following description.

.In the drawings wherein like numerals are employed 'to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a transverse section through a continuous system showing a grinding unit in elevation,

Fig. 2 isa plan view in diagrammaticform showing a portlon of a grinding 'and pol1sh- -1ng system,

carried upon suitable rolls or wheels 7 run- -ning on tracks'8. The tables are preferably such that they may be coupled together to form a continuousline, whereby as the sheet of glass has been surfaced thesheet-maybe removed and the table uncoupled, while at the opposite end a new table and sheet are being added to the 'line. Of course the'construction of the tables can be such that the sheets of glass can overlap joints between adj acent tables or notyasdesired. The sheets h may either be supported freely inaareeess or held in position by means of'a suitable cement such as plaster of Paris, which is well known in the art.

The tables 5 and sheets of glass 6 supported thereon are adapted to be moved continuously and progressively beneath a plurality of grinding units 9 and polishing units 10. The grinding and polishing units are practically identical except for the surfacing faces. That is, each unit may comprise a rotatable shaft 11 arranged in'a suitable housing 12, shown in Fig. 1. The numeral 13 designates the housing of a drive motor, while the numeral 14 designates the housing for a suitable speed reducing gearing. The construction of the motor and speed reducing gearing, etc., is not a part of the present invention, and therefore it will not be necessary to go further into detail. A bracket 15 having the pintles 16 is provided to support the shaft 12 and associated parts. The numeral 17 designates a supporting member or beam arranged substantially longitudinally of the line of grinding and polishing units. Slide blocks 18 are mounted on the support 17 in a manner that they may be moved longitudinally of the line. The slide blocks are adapted to pivotally support the bell-crank arms 19 engaging at one end the pintles 16 in a manner to support the same, while the opposite ends of the bell-crank are pivotally associated as at 20 with an adjusting mechanism 21 having associated therewith an operating wheel 22. By operating the wheel 22, the levers 19 will be pivoted about the points 23 of the slide members so that the shaft 11 will be raised vertically. Associated with the slide members is a depending bracket or support 24 having a portion'34 slidably associated with a second longitudinal supporting member or beam 25 arranged beneath and extending substantially parallel with the upper supporting member 17 Guide means 26 are carried by the lower end of the bracket 24:, andrhave means whereby guide pins 27 may be carried by the housing 12 to maintain the housing 12 and associated parts in a vertical position at all times.

In Fig. 1 a grinding head 28 is illustrated as being carried and rotated by the shaft 11. The grinding head 28 may be formed from cast iron or similar metal, and is adapted for engagement with the sheet of glass to be surfaced. An abrasive trough 29 may be provided to supply abrasive between the sheet and the grinding head, the abrasive being supplied to the trough by any suitable conduit or the like which is not shown.

In the case of the polishing units, a plurality of polishing blocks, illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 2, are carried by means of a suitable spider supported and driven by means of a shaft 11.

To permit adjustment of the units longitudinally of the line with respect to one an other whereby to regulate the space between surfacing heads, stationary means 30 are mounted on the support 17 and have operable therethrough threaded shafts 31 turned by means of the hand wheels 32. Abutment blocks 33 are adapted to engage the slide blocks 18 so that by proper rotation of the shafts 31, the slide blocks 18 and thus the surfacing units supported thereby may be moved. The surfacing units are normally iaintained in a fixed position during the surfacing operation. In Fig. 3, it will be seen that by adjusting the threaded shafts 31 the slide blocks will slide along the support 17. Upon adjustment of the surfacing units, the portions 34 of bracket 24 will slide along the lower supporting member 25 to steady the lower portion or end of the unit.

By mounting the grinding and polishing units in the manner just described, the space between the units can be varied. As the speed at which the sheet is passed through the system, the units may be adjusted to take care of the change if it is desired. Of course it is not ordinarily necessary to be constantly changing the position of the units, but on the other hand, it is necessary to get a proper balance to obtain the best results.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In combination in apparatus for surfacing sheet glass, a plurality of surfacing units arranged substantially in a line and each including a surfacing head rotatable about a susbtantially vertical axis, means for moving a sheet of glass beneath said units and in contact with the surfacing heads, a support arranged at one side of the units adjacent the upper ends thereof, means slidably mounted upon said support and adapted to carry the surfacing units, said units being normally maintained in a fixed position during the surfacing operation, means for moving the slidably mounted means upon said support to adjust the surfacing units longitudinally of the line with respect to one another so as to vary the distance between adjacent surfacing heads, a second support arranged beneath the first mentioned support and positioned at the side of the surfacing units adjacent the lower ends thereof, and means connected with each surfacing unit adjacent the lower end thereof and having slidable engagement with said second mentioned support to steady the lower end of said unit upon longitudinal adjustment thereof.

2. In combination in apparatus for surfacing sheet glass, a plurality of surfacing units arranged substantially in a line and each in cluding a surfacing head rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, means for moving a sheet of glass beneath said units and in contact with the surfacing heads, a support extending longitudinally of the line at one side of the units adjacent the upper ends thereof, slide members slidably mounted upon said support and adapted to carry the surfacing units, said units being normally maintained in a fixed position during the surfacing operation, means for moving the slide members upon said support to adjust the surfacing units longitudinally of the line with respect to one another so as to vary the distance between adjacent surfacing heads, a second longitudinally extending support arranged beneath the first mentioned support and positioned at the side of the surfacing units adjacent the lower ends thereof, a substantially vertical bracket member associated with and depending from the slide members of each unit and being connected with said unit adjacent the lower end thereof, said bracket member having a portion fitting over and slidably engaging said second support to steady the lower end of the surfacing unit upon longitudinal adjustment thereof.

3. In combination in apparatus for surfacing sheet glass, a plurality of surfacing units arranged substantially in a line and each including a surfacing head rotatable about a stationary vertical axis, means for passing a sheet of glass beneath said units and in contact with the surfacing heads, said units being normally maintained in a fixed position during the surfacing operation, means for supporting each unit adjacent its upper end, means for moving the supporting means to adjust the units longitudinally of the line with respect to one another to Vary the distance between adjacent surfacing heads,alongitudinally extending supporting member arranged beneath the first supporting means and positioned at the side of the surfacing units adjacent the lower ends thereof, a substantially vertical bracket member associated with and depending from the first mentioned supporting means and being connected with the unit adjacent the lower end thereof, said bracket member having a portion fitting over and slidably engaging said second support to steady the lower end of the surfacing unit upon longitudinal adjustment thereof.

Signed at Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, this 17th day of March,

JAMES C. BLAIR. 

